The Wind Spirit and the Unremarkable Boy ~A Convenient Romance Beginning in Another World~ - Storm Testing Ground — Uncontrollable Wind

The sky at dawn was still close to deep indigo. 　Takumi stood in the front courtyard of Tetsuhane Manor—a three-story stone building that served as the headquarters of the Ash Wing Brigade. Morning dew glistened on the stone pavement. His breath came out white. 　What happened last night still clung to the corner of his mind. 　The remnants of the seal—that fragment of crystal—had pulsed in his hand. Ever since returning to the inn, unable to sleep, he'd kept gripping it in his pocket. Tonight it wasn't warm, but vibrated with a faint, rhythmic pulse. As if remembering something. （There's a test today, isn't there）　He pulled his hand from his pocket. The air was cold. 　Five other examinees had already gathered in the courtyard. Most appeared older than Takumi. A large young man in leather armor, a woman holding a short staff, a middle-aged man with calm eyes—all of them carried an air of being "experienced." 　Takumi stood at the edge of their circle. "You came." 　A low voice sounded. 　Risetta emerged from the manor's door. Her chestnut-brown hair was tied back at her neck, a gray mantle draped across her chest. The thin scar on her left cheek was barely visible in the pale morning light. At 175 centimeters, her height held its own among the other examinees. Her cool green eyes slowly swept across all six of them in turn. "I'll explain the test. Today is a mock escort mission. You'll guide one merchant from the marketplace to the cargo loading area outside the east gate. Distance is approximately two kilometers. There are three mock obstacles along the way." 　Short and efficient. "Magic use is permitted. You'll be evaluated on three criteria: judgment, response speed, and formation maintenance. Two evaluators will accompany you. That's all." 　A small murmur rippled through the examinees. Takumi sighed inwardly. （It's a simple test. But—）　He glanced to the side. At the edge of the courtyard, against the manor wall, Jin sat with her small feet stretched out in front of her, watching Takumi intently. Her water-blue hair swayed in the morning breeze. The pinwheel ornament on one ear caught the light. "Wait for me," Takumi said quietly, approaching her. 　Jin snorted softly. "Can wait," she replied. 　That was all. But her transparent blue eyes looked straight at Takumi. The weight of that gaze reached his chest before any words could. （She's saying I should come back safely）　Takumi nodded slightly and returned to the line of examinees. 　　　◇ 　The test began. 　The six examinees spread out around the merchant—a portly man in his forties carrying goods on his shoulder—and began walking through Verna's marketplace district. 　The morning market was lively. Vegetable vendors, a boy carrying milk, an old woman stepping over grass sprouting from cracks in the stone pavement. People and carts crossed in complex patterns, making it harder than expected to maintain formation. 　The first obstacle appeared suddenly in the middle of an alley: a "drunk" played by an evaluator's assistant. The large young examinee quickly stepped forward, using his body as a shield while guiding the merchant backward. Clean handling. The evaluator's pen scratched against paper. 　Takumi was a beat late. （I didn't fail to move—I just overthought which direction to move）　He cut through his own excuses in his head. 　The second obstacle was a "falling object" from a roof. A wooden crate tipped and fell. The water-attribute female examinee immediately deployed a water membrane to catch it. Smooth activation. Everything from the way she shaped her magic to the speed of her chant was refined. 　Takumi felt for the wind's power. 　Just for an instant. For only a moment, the air swirled in his palm. But he suppressed it immediately. （Can't use it. My identity would be exposed）　The Wind Prohibition—the law banning wind-attribute magic after the Lamentation Wind Disaster—flashed through his mind. Violators faced up to twenty years imprisonment. There was no guarantee that none of the evaluators were from the Residual Reflection Ordinal Council. 　As a result, Takumi could only serve as a "wall" walking on the merchant's left side. 　He felt the evaluators' gazes turn toward him more than once. 　　　◇ 　Around the time his instinct told him the third obstacle was near, Takumi noticed something. 　Something in his chest—more precisely, the resonance of the contract—was sending him a wave of anxiety. Not his own anxiety. A sensation pulling like a thread from somewhere distant. （Jin?）　He couldn't turn around. He couldn't break formation. 　The third obstacle was a "test decoy device"—a small magical artifact that emitted high-density magical essence, temporarily numbing a mage's senses. The moment they turned the corner of the alley, everyone's movements dulled slightly. 　The large young man handled it with martial arts. The middle-aged man buried the device in the ground with earth magic. The other examinees each found their own way through. 　Takumi stopped. 　The pressure of magical essence clung to his skin. For Takumi, who couldn't use magic, there was no way to handle it. He tried to break through with martial arts, but doing so while guiding the merchant was difficult. "Hey," a voice said. 　He turned around. 　Jin was standing there. 　Right in the middle of the test area, as if it were the most natural thing. "W-why are you here?" Takumi asked. "Wanted to come," Jin replied. 　It wasn't a real reason. But Jin's expression was completely normal. She didn't seem bothered at all by being told to wait. The pinwheel ornament swayed. （Ah, this kid...）　Takumi wanted to hold his head, but at the same time, something in his chest felt lighter. Relief and confusion mixed in equal measure. 　Jin moved to Takumi's side and, with a natural motion, brought her fingertips close to his wrist. Just that was enough to change the flow of magical essence. A sensation of warmth filling his body—Jin was beginning to supply magical essence through their contract. 　The pressure eased. "Are you okay—" Takumi started to ask, reaching out his hand. 　He tried to touch Jin's forehead. 　In that instant, Jin grabbed his wrist and pushed his hand down. 　Takumi's palm pressed against Jin's forehead. 　It was soft. Softer than he expected. And—warm. Not heat, but living temperature. "No fever. Keep going," Jin said. 　The words were short. But Jin's gaze was slightly averted. 　Takumi pulled his hand back. His face was hot. He didn't understand why it was hot, but it was. He quickly faced forward. The merchant was looking at them with confusion. 　And from further back. "...Hmm." 　One of the evaluators was taking notes with an expressionless face. 　Takumi noticed that gaze, and his face grew even hotter. （They saw that!!）　He'd completely forgotten he was in the middle of a test. Jin's presence had consumed his attention. Embarrassment and panic mixed together, and Takumi hurried the group forward. 　Thanks to the magical essence Jin supplied, they got through the difficult section. His feet moved forward. He could guide the merchant. 　Good, he thought—in that instant, Jin's complexion turned blue at the edge of his vision. 　He didn't notice. Takumi was facing forward. 　　　◇ 　As the test entered its final phase, black smoke rose in the southeastern sky. 　Not just one column. Two, then three rose in succession. 　The evaluators stopped and spoke quietly with Risetta. Three seconds later, Risetta addressed everyone. "Test suspended. The Jaw Iron Party—an armed merchant organization controlling magical ore rights in the northern continent—is attacking the magical ore warehouse in the east district. Everyone, convert to live combat." 　Tension ran through the examinees. 　Takumi was a step behind. （Live combat. If I use magic—my identity will be exposed. But if I don't use it—）　The other examinees were already moving. The large young man ran at the front. The water-attribute woman began shaping her magical power. Everyone was going all out. The moment the boundary between test and real combat disappeared, the "performance" they'd been putting on peeled away, revealing the faces of true warriors. 　Risetta passed by him. She didn't shout. For just an instant, her cool green eyes met his. 　There were no words. Just that one glance. But the weight of that moment moved Takumi's feet. （Make a decision）　He ran. 　　　◇ 　The warehouse district in the east was shrouded in smoke and angry voices. 　A cart loaded with magical ore lay overturned, black powder scattered across the stone pavement. Five armed men—members of the Jaw Iron Party, equipped with leather armor and iron clubs—were trying to smash open the warehouse door. 　Takumi confirmed the situation from the shadow of an alley. The large young examinee was facing them head-on. The water-attribute woman was covering the flank. Risetta was directing from the rear. 　Takumi entered from a different angle. One of them noticed and raised his club. Takumi dodged by leaning back. Using only martial arts. Without using the wind's power. 　The man pursued. He was fast. Takumi turned through alleys, bent around corners, kicked off the stone pavement. 　In that moment. 　The thread in his chest snapped. 　No—it didn't snap. It went silent. 　The resonance stopped. 　This wasn't the first time he'd felt this through the contract—when the other person was losing consciousness, the resonance would break. It wasn't something he'd learned from Jin in Episode 3, but Takumi's body knew what it meant. 　He turned around. 　At the edge of the alley, Jin was on her knees, one hand against the stone wall. 　Her water-blue hair scattered across the pavement. Her face was white. Her lips were pale. The pinwheel ornament wasn't swaying. 　Excessive magical essence supply—on top of the assistance during the test, the shift to live combat had drained her further. He hadn't noticed. He'd been facing forward. "Jin," Takumi called out. 　His voice came out low, so low he barely recognized it himself. 　Thought came after feeling. 　He couldn't protect her. He hadn't noticed until that small body collapsed. She'd come to the test because of him, assisted him because of him, covered for his failures because of him, and now she was on her knees with her hand against the wall. 　Something melted inside him. 　What he'd been holding back came pouring out all at once. 　The air in his palm moved. The scale changed in an instant. 　A wind close to a tornado tore through the alley. 　Debris flew up. Armed men were blown away. A market stall's awning was torn to shreds. Several roof tiles fell with a thunderous crash. Takumi was at the center of the wind. He felt his power flowing outward—but he couldn't stop it. He didn't know how to stop it. He didn't know where to direct it. It just kept overflowing. 　Everyone present froze. Armed men and examinees alike. 　Someone said in a low voice—"This is..." Nothing more followed. 　The disaster that once covered the entire continent in seven days of storms. Fourteen thousand lives lost. Cities destroyed. No one here had directly witnessed it, but everyone on the continent knew the story. How the Lamentation Wind Disaster had begun. 　This wind resembled that beginning. 　Takumi himself knew it best. （Stop. Stop stop stop stop）　But it wouldn't stop. Fear and power mixed together, tearing him apart. The wind grew stronger. Sand rose from the cracks in the stone pavement. The air trembled. 　A voice reached him. "Close your eyes," Risetta commanded. 　She didn't shout. Her voice wasn't high. But—it didn't waver. Only certainty lived in that voice. "Remember where your power comes from." 　Takumi closed his eyes. 　Only the sound of wind remained. Then even that began to fade. 　What surfaced in his mind wasn't Jin's face. 　It was the stone chamber. 　The underground sealing room. A crumbling corridor. Wind patterns carved into

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Episode 5

Name: The Wind Spirit and the Unremarkable Boy ~A Convenient Romance Beginning in Another World~
Author: Novelia

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